Spoilers
by panneler-san
Summary: Five hundred years after he has outlived all of his family and friends, The Lord of the West finds a familiar face at the Higurashi shrine.
1. The End

A/N: Inspiration is a wonderful thing. Cheers to YoukaiYume.

The End

Toga hadn't always been a selfish bastard, Sesshomaru dully noted.

When he was a pup, his father had at least pretended he loved his son. While that didn't fully count as passable parenting in his book, the Lord of the West appreciated the gesture, nonetheless. Thinking back on it now, he only remembered his childhood more clearly.

All pretenses had been dropped after Toga had met that woman.

Sesshomaru had long since suspected that his father's union with his mother had only ever been a political one. It wasn't hard to tell, even at a young age. They greeted each other politely, but it was always cold.

He truly believed they had developed something of a friendship over the years, or perhaps it was just mutual respect, but there was no love. The Lord of the West often wondered as a boy what it would be like if his parents had been in love. Perhaps it would be better?

And then he had met Izayoi.

Sesshomaru was witness to the entire downfall of the man he had once respected. From the moment he had met that human woman, to the place the Lords of the South and East and the Lady of the North had stripped him of his title, to the shores of the last battle he had ever fought, and then finally to the burning hut in which his brother had been born.

He had seen every moment.

It wouldn't have bothered him as much if his mother hadn't been devastated.

He may have even forgiven Toga if his eyes hadn't shone with love when he spoke of Inuyasha.

Toga never apologized.

And so, he never forgave.

… … …

Inuyasha burst into the hut, breathing heavily and looking like he was very much in pain.

Sesshomaru blinked. "May I help you, little brother?"

The half-demon clenched his fists, chest heaving.

The elder sibling handed the scroll he was reading to the green imp and said, "Put this away, Jaken."

He quickly obliged. "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru! I live to serve you!"

The door slammed shut upon his exit. Sesshomaru folded his hands atop the tea table and waited. Inuyasha seemed confused how to proceed. His mouth kept opening and closing, but not a single word was spoken. After more than a few minutes of silence, the demon's patience began wearing thin.

"Are you going to speak?" he asked.

Inuyasha looked unsure.

"If you are unable to articulate to me," he hissed, "then leave. Naraku is gone, and I want a moment's peace-"

"She's gone," he blurted.

Sesshomaru froze. "Who is?"

"Kagome," Inuyasha choked, and he was shocked to see tears forming in his brother's yellow eyes. "She… I can't get… The well is shut."

He had swept out of the hut in a second.

Kaede's village offered him a home, and while Sesshomaru knew he would refuse, it was nice to sit and think. Naraku was finally dead, and Rin seemed to enjoy the company of other children. The Lord of the West was above idle gossip and eavesdropping – but he couldn't help it if he heard everything the villagers said.

Most had talked of boring, trivial things. Some mentioned his half-brother and his friends. Before he knew it, Sesshomaru was informed of everything about the five travelers and their demon cat. He'd heard whispers that the Priestess had been seen coming and going from the well.

Sesshomaru didn't particularly pay attention to Inuyasha's friends, nor did he truly care what fate befell them – but after the terrible relationship he had with his father, and the long road that he and his brother had walked to finally reach an understanding, he wouldn't have a human woman ruining his family again.

Not this time.

The grass around the Bone-Eater's well was all dug up. Peering to the bottom revealed many footprints that had been ground into the dirt. Inuyasha caught up to him, landing heavily on the side of the rickety well and nearly losing his balance.

Sesshomaru thought carefully. "This is the path to the Priestess's home?"

"It's sealed," he said, shaking his head and gazing down into the depths of the black pit. "No matter how many times I try, it won't open… I can't get to her!"

"Inuyasha, explain-"

The half-demon jumped from the side and to the bottom. He landed with an "Oof", and remained where he was. He sat there for the longest time, staring at the wall of the well, not moving, not speaking.

Sesshomaru took it that Inuyasha had tried this several hundreds of times, judging by the torn up surroundings and the many footprints resting under the fresh pair. He'd never seen his brother like this. Always, Inuyasha had been angry, sarcastic, protective, or at least loud.

Now he said nothing.

"I don't know what to do for you," he whispered into the well.

After a long silence, his younger brother's words whispered back, "I thought I'd never have to say goodbye again."

… … …

Sesshomaru hadn't exactly _left _Kaede's village; Rin seemed to want to stay, and it was no trouble for the Monk and the ex-demon slayer to watch her while he wandered the surrounding wilds. The stupid pair had gotten married several months after the final battle with Naraku, and had since birthed three children.

One more to watch was nothing.

Besides, Rin was getting older, and was more of a help than a burden. As she aged, she wanted to spend less time with him and more time with the other village children. It mattered not to him, but it was odd to see her grow so quickly.

Inuyasha took two whole years to get back on his feet. He'd finally stopped trying to force his way into the Priestess' 'time' (as he'd put it), but mentioned her on a daily basis the entire first year. After that, he spent every single day sitting in front of the well, staring at it without a word. Sometimes, when Sesshomaru was quiet enough, he could hear him crying from his hut.

Inuyasha's distress made him uncomfortable. The Lord of the West had long since shut out the possibility of romantic love. His father had taken care of that for him. However, he reminded himself, his young brother hadn't known Toga like he had. He knew, but hadn't truly understood, that Toga abandoned Sesshomaru and his mother. Therefore, Inuyasha had never gotten the chance to guard his heart.

One evening, he had gone to the well to sit with him. Once he heard his brother approaching, Inuyasha had stopped crying and acted like nothing was wrong. By the time he arrived, his face was clean and set in a frown.

"Why are you here?"

Sesshomaru sat. "To enjoy the night air."

He put his chin on his knees, back against the lip of the well. "Keh."

"Hnn," was his reply.

They sat in silence. The new moon made the stars bright, and Inuyasha's human form seemed weaker than he remembered it.

"Little brother," said Sesshomaru slowly, "You take the world for granted."

His head shot up. "I _what_?"

"There is much to see," he explained, eyes skyward. "Many things to do. Beauty to be found. But you are staring at your feet."

"What do you even mean?"

"Your friend just gave birth to her second son. The villagers of this place made a flower arrangement to honor the fallen soldiers from here. The stars are much more brilliant tonight because the moon in absent. And," he said, "If you listened more closely, you would hear the song of the Wolf Demons from the mountain. They're celebrating the union between their Chief and his bride. But you have missed all of this."

He paused. "I-!"

"You lost love once, but found it again." Sesshomaru stood and began walking back to his hut. "Who is to say you won't come across it a third time?"

Inuyasha went to visit Sango the next morning. After a few days, he was fully involved in the lives of his friends again, and just in time for the young Fox demon, Shippou, to get his last tail. Another year passed in peace.

It wasn't long until Higurashi Kagome returned. Three years, _hardly_ a noteworthy amount of time in the eyes of a demon. It had just so happened that Rin noticed bones at the bottom of the well one day, and everyone had exploded on the issue.

According to what he heard from the gossiping ladies, this meant their Lady Kagome might be coming back. And soon. Inuyasha had gone completely insane with the news, he and his friends both. They began waiting outside of the well, talking, laughing, sharing memories. Hope had never shined brighter in their eyes.

It was after only seven days that he began to wait with them. Rin seemed to want to, and he hardly refused her anything. Sango's brother, Kohaku, had returned from his wandering, and brought Kouga, the wolf demon, and his wife, Ayumi with him. Even Jaken seemed excited. The empty well had gathered quite an audience. As for Sesshomaru, he hung back while they crowed around, safe in the treeline.

The moment a pink light flared up through the well, everyone went dead silent. The sound of shuffling feet tickled his ears, and he watched as Inuyasha leapt to the edge and peered inside.

His face melted into a smile, and Sesshomaru was struck by the idea that, for once, love had saved his family.

His brother was happy.

He reached a hand down into the well, and after a moment, he pulled Kagome up.

She began to say, "Inuyasha-!" but caught sight of the rest of her friends and stopped, tears brimming over her cheeks.

His brother grinned at her, swept her into a bone-crushing hug, and whispered into her hair, "Welcome back, Kagome!"

They all hugged her one by one. On his turn, Miroku got slapped for no apparent reason, but they all laughed loudly and wiped their tears, grinning from ear to ear.

The Lord of the West watched from his keep against a tree, observing the changes that had happened to the Priestess. She had gotten taller. Her hair was shorter, and her features more womanly. Time passed to quickly for humans.

Their eyes met, and Kagome blinked in surprise.

Sesshomaru looked back at her, and watched the smile drop from her face. Her lips trembled. Finally, her tore her eyes from him, and he decided to think nothing of it. Humans were such fickle creatures, after all.

… … …

The Priestess and his half-brother married. Sesshomaru finally abandoned Kaede's village shortly after they gave birth to their first child, and didn't once return for ten years. He came back when news of Rin's wedding reached him, and then discovered that his brother and his wife had three children, and were soon expecting a forth.

The two children that were old enough to speak took to calling him Uncle unnaturally fast, and when Inuyasha forced him to hold their toddler, he laughed at how the little tyke pulled his hair while Sesshomaru bore it all, stone-faced.

He still hadn't spoken more than four words to his brother's wife besides "Thank you", "Please," and "Hnn." He felt as though she had never looked him fully in the eye, but it hardly bothered him.

After Rin and her new husband had finally retired to their hut for the night, Sesshomaru stole away. Inuyasha had asked that he stay to see his new child, which was barely a week from delivery, but he politely refused.

Wandering suited him, he decided.

Seeing so many people that had found purpose and family with each other put him off.

He had long since decided against allowing himself to love, after all.

It was on a bitter freezing evening more than fifty years later that Sesshomaru received the letter from Kouga detailing the death of his brother and his wife. Unwelcome news, but the truth.

It had seemed that Inuyasha had actually passed away first – some freak accident with a powerful rouge demon. His wife was very old for human at that point, and had died from the grief and shock.

It didn't stop there. Much too soon, Miroku and Sango had both passed, and then it was Rin's turn, and not nearly long enough after her went her children. His brother's sons and daughters lived slightly longer than most humans, but even they succumbed to their human blood eventually.

Before he realized, Sesshomaru was all alone.

Everyone was gone, but still he did not die. It had been about a hundred years since he'd kept track of who his brother's decedents were, but by now he had no doubts they were completely human. Perhaps, rarely, a demonic trait came about in them. Perhaps not.

He wouldn't have known them as his kin if they passed him in the streets.

It was around the year 2001 that Sesshomaru decided, completely on a whim, to visit the shrine that now surrounded the old well.

The world had changed – hardly anything looked familiar to him. Tokyo was huge, with buildings he'd never dreamed of in his youth plaguing the streets. Fashion was drastically different, and even the people looked strange.

It was no longer a hassle for Sesshomaru to keep a human appearance. In 1824, going out and about in their normal attire was frowned upon, and it actually surprised him just how quickly the world forgot about demons.

He'd adopted modern fashion a little later than most, and was uncomfortable in it, but as the years went by it became a new normal. The thing he'd hated changing the most was his hair.

Long hair eventually went out of style in the late 1800's, and when just a hakama were no longer enough to keep stares off of him, he'd grudgingly cut it.

His visit to the shrine was unplanned. He hadn't thought of his half-brother in decades, having been distracted by making a life for himself in the new age. His job kept him distracted enough, though he frowned upon the fact that wandering the country and slaying wild animals for food was no longer acceptable.

Whatever demons were still alive, they had completely conformed to human tradition.

Sometimes, when Sesshomaru closed his eyes, he could feel the earth reach out to him, and he could see how the world used to be. The red gate looked old enough – someone had built the place long ago, but hardly long enough. Standing across the street and mind filled with thoughts of those he once knew, the Lord of the West closed his eyes.

He was in a lush forest. Inuyasha's forest, as it had been called for decades after his death. Kaede's village was behind him, and the well was just ahead.

He crossed the street.

There were several young families visiting, talking, laughing, and praying. Sesshomaru could hear the distinct ring of the shrine's bell and the two claps that preceded prayer. There had been a time, he recalled, when those he walked past would tremble in fear or respect. Now, they hardly noticed him.

The young family in front of the bell finally left, giggling about what charms they were going to purchase, and Sesshomaru stepped up to the plate. His single hand reached out, grabbed hold of the red velvety string, and tugged.

_Ding, ding_

The bell tolled. He closed his eyes.

"Father," he murmured into the air, "I am still here. I am beginning to think I will never leave."

Someone screamed.

Sesshomaru whipped around, but the courtyard was empty. He waited, and another terrible scream met him.

"_No_!" it cried. "_No, no, no! Let me through!_"

He followed it. The cries led him to the other end of the property, just outside a small building. He glanced behind him, where the great old tree still stood. Inuyasha had been sealed to that tree, once. It was still alive.

Just like he was.

The voice was definitely coming from inside. He pushed open the rattling door just in time to see a head of raven black hair vanishing into the dark confines of a well. When he heard feet hit the ground heavily, he understood.

"Work!" screamed a woman's voice. "Let me through!"

He watched as the Priestess, Higurashi Kagome, climbed back to the top, her young face streaked with angry tears. She braced herself, sobbed, and jumped back into the well. This time, a sickening crack of breaking bone gauged the success of her fall.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried. "Inuyasha!"

Sesshomaru leapt to the lip and peered down. The girl huddled on the floor, clutching her heart, her left leg turning black and blue at an alarming rate. This would not do.

Bewildered and confused, a composed Sesshomaru dropped gracefully down into the small space. "Miko," he said.

Perhaps she had gone mad, he reasoned. She didn't even seem to notice he was present.

He reached down and scooped her up into his arms. She gasped at the contact and stuttered, "L-Lord… Sesshomaru?"

He jumped up to the top and carried her out of the well house. Everything made sense to him, now – the secretive nature of her arrival, the strange gateway of the Bone-Eater's well, her odd dress and apparel, her strange scent… Even the way she spoke.

His brother's mate was from the future.

"Put me down!" she cried, scrambling to get loose. "I have to go back! I have to get back to him! Inuyasha! _Inuyasha_!"

"The way is shut," he said. "You cannot go back." _Not yet. _

"It can't be closed," she groaned. "I have to… I have to see him!"

He realized all at once that at this exact moment in his past, he was examining the sealed well with his brother. He had thought the story was over once this woman had returned, but in truth, it was only the beginning of the long three years apart for her. Sesshomaru said curtly, "Your leg is broken."

She sobbed.

"I'm taking you to a hospital."

"Why do you have to be here?" she asked, clutching his shirt for support. "Why couldn't you be him?"

He ignored this. She was mad with grief. Nothing to take seriously.

It was best not to get involved, he decided. He would leave her at the nearest emergency room, contact her family, and go about his business. She was going back to his brother in three years' time, anyway. The blast from the past was unnecessary. His relationship with this woman would end forever after today.

In the hospital, he set her on a chair and went to speak with the attendant. Once he was done, he returned to her.

"A doctor will come to fetch you any moment," he informed her. "Do not try to enter the well. You will only hurt yourself again. Give it some time."

He turned to leave.

"Don't go!"

Warm fingers grasped his hand.

"You're all I have left," she whispered. "Don't leave me, Lord Sesshomaru. Please…"

He looked back at her, at her teary, red face, sad, brown eyes, and pleading heart. This was the woman who had made his brother's life complete. Sesshomaru decided then and there that until he could return her to Inuyasha, he had to watch over her.

"Are you going to stay?" she whispered.

"Hnn," was his staunch reply.

He already knew how this story would end, after all.

A/N:

Next Chapter: The Bridge


	2. The Bridge

A/N: This story has been rated T for language. Thanks to all who subscribed and favorite and reviewed, and once again to YoukaiYume who is to thank for the creation of this fic. Please check out her piece "Don't Go" on Deviantart. Support the original art!

The Bridge

"She's exhausted," explained the doctor wearily. "That's why she hasn't woken up."

Sesshomaru listened.

The doctor sighed and glanced around the empty halls before leaning in, cupping a hand to the side of her mouth. "And just between you and me," she whispered, "She's in bad shape. Really bad. She's got these marks around her body, like she's been bound up tightly with ropes… There are multiple lacerations, I've just barely manage to stop all the bleeding. And, for a fifteen year old girl, she's got the _strongest _legs."

The doctor held up her hands as if this was important.

"It's like she literally does nothing but walk and run. Granted, one of her legs has fractured, so that may be impossible to get back to for some time…"

Sesshomaru said, "Anything else?"

The doctor snapped her fingers. "She's malnourished. Hasn't had a decent meal in months. I've got her on a drip IV so she can get some of the vitamins back in her blood."

He waited, brow raised slightly, and the doctor blinked.

He blinked back.

"That's all," she said.

He nodded. "Thank you."

"I suggest you wait here till she wakes up," she sighed, patting him on the shoulder on her way out. "She looks like she could _really_ use a shoulder to cry on."

Kagome's eyes were closed and her mouth open slightly when Sesshomaru went to see her. He closed the door and leaned against it, arms crossed.

She looked like she had just gotten out of a battle.

Sesshomaru tilted his head a little and observed her. Her black hair was a mess. The cuts on her face had been cleaned and covered by bandages, but some of the bruises were larger than the white linen. His face trickled down into a frown.

He knew exactly how his half-brother would react if he saw his mate like this.

In fact, he reasoned, Sesshomaru knew how Inuyasha would act in any situation concerning his wife. He'd never tried to hide how very much in love with her he was. It felt like a millennia ago that Kouga had written his letter, but he recalled every word and detail with surprising clarity.

_…sorry to be the one to tell you this._

_ Kagome didn't last long after Dog-Breath passed away. She was gone within three days. I'm not sure when this letter is going to reach you, but Ayumi insisted I try._

_ We heard you might be out of the country, but you could come back to visit their graves anytime you want._

_ We had them buried together._

_ It's what they would have wanted._

His brother's face intruded on his thoughts. Dejected. Hurt. Empty. Everything he had experienced while Kagome was missing for three years.

_Missing here, _he realized.

The reality of the situation struck him like a brick wall, and suddenly he felt cheap. It wasn't right. Inuyasha, the boy he had hated but come to respect, had cried over this human. He had cried for her absence and longed for her return. Sesshomaru was with her now, while his brother was alone.

It wasn't fair at all.

He swallowed and turned to go.

"…yasha," the sleeping girl muttered.

He contemplated. The Lord of the West felt torn. Should he stay and watch over the woman who was and would become his sister-in-law? Or should he be fair to the time his brother had lost and not see her again?

Slowly, he reached for his wallet. With a steady hand, he placed his business card on the tabletop next to her bed, turned on his heel, and left the hospital.

… … …

"The fuck have you been?" cried Kouga, hands on his hips.

The tall demon ignored his fowl use of words and took a seat behind his orderly desk. "I was enjoying my day off; I recall suggesting you do the same."

The wolf demon let out a sharp bark of laughter and slung his arm around Sesshomaru's shoulders. "You're just charming all the time, aren't you?" he asked. "I wanted a break too, asshole. But we've got a case to crack, recall it?"

"Get off."

"We're _cops_, Sesshomaru! We have duties to our country and our city to maintain a crime-free lifestyle… Now that I think about it, didn't you and I do our fair share of crime back in the Warring States?"

"Touch me one more time, Kouga, and-"

"Whoa, whoa!" he exclaimed, backing off, hands defensively flailing in the air. "Loosen up! I wouldn't exactly call us friends, but we've been working together for one-hundred and seventy-four years!"

"That doesn't mean you can touch me."

"You never change, huh?" chuckled Kouga. "Okay, look, I was talking to-"

He stopped. Sesshomaru's face narrowed into a frown. "Speak," he ordered.

Kouga stared at him.

The white-haired man said, "I grow weary of your silence, Kouga."

He shook his head. "I-it's nothing. I just… I thought I smelled…"

He looked away. "Who have you talked to?"

"Uh, this high school kid," he continued, shaking his head clear and pulling up a seat. "Says he thought he saw our guy lurking about his school grounds."

"Hnn."

"Hey, I trust him," he said. "Didn't smell like he was lying."

"So?" asked Sesshomaru.

Kouga looked confused. "So what?"

"So have you had the area checked?" he hissed impatiently.

"Not yet."

"_Why_ are you coming to me before you've even investigated properly? How long have you been doing this job?"

"I thought it seemed important, Jesus!" he cried. "It isn't like you had _plans_!"

Sesshomaru quieted. "I did."

"Oh, _did_ you?"

"I was going to see Inuyasha."

Kouga closed his mouth.

The man reached into his desk for a pen, and scribbled silently at the copious amount of documents piled up.

His companion pulled up a chair and sat, so they were at eye-level. "…Have you found it yet?"

"No." He had replied shortly, and Kouga flinched.

"I see. Um… Any progress, at least?"

He crossed a kanji sharply. "None."

"I want to help," he sighed. "Really, I do."

"If you had truly wanted to help me," Sesshomaru hissed, looking up from his paperwork, "you wouldn't have hidden my only brother's grave!"

"I have my reasons," he explained.

Sesshomaru sat back. "Enough."

A cell phone rang. He stiffened. Had the girl woken already? He had expected her to sleep for several more hours. The Lord of the West cursed in his heart – he had left his business card so she could call him if she truly needed him. He felt twisted, spending time with her in place of Inuyasha, but he would not deny her the company.

Still, this felt much too soon. He hadn't sorted out his mind yet.

Kouga jumped. "Oh, that's me." His cell phone withdrew from his pocket, flashing and singing loudly.

Sesshomaru exhaled.

"This is Kouga," he said. "Mm-hmm. Yeah."

The white-haired man checked his own portable phone just in case. The screen was dark. He flipped it open. 0 new calls, 0 new messages.

"_What_?" His eyes snaked in Sesshomaru's direction. Standing, he turned his back. "Hey… You're joking, right?"

He hardly believed he had been so convinced it was Kagome. Realistically, she was still asleep in the hospital, dreaming of nonsense and fancy.

"Look, I'm _really _not in the mood for this, okay? I swear to God, Shippou, if you're spewing some crazy bullshit-!"

He paused. Sesshomaru looked up and frowned. Shippou? He glanced at the clock. Six PM on the dot. The young Fox demon was supposed to be working. He listened harder.

Kouga's tan face went ashen. He sat down slowly, still listening to whatever Shippou was telling him. He didn't speak for a very long time. His Adam's apple bobbed hard as he swallowed. "Okay. No, we'll fix it. I'll come over with Sesshomaru first thing tomorrow morning."

More silence.

"I said we'd fix it, runt! Just…" He sighed. "Take care of things on your end. I…I'll draw up a report and see you tomorrow. No, no, he's here, I'll tell him myself. Okay. Be careful."

The phone snapped shut.

"Our witness is dead," he explained. "Teacher found him hangin' up in the girl's laboratory."

"…Hnn."

"Sesshomaru," he growled, "I don't think this was a suicide."

… … …

He hardly ever slept these days – Tokyo's crime rate was only increasing, and although he'd been doing this job for over a hundred years, the Lord of the West wasn't used to having to work to make a living.

It had been Kouga's idea to work with the law – they had been free once, where there were no rules and humans and demons alike lived by their trust and distrust of strangers. Once upon a time it had been fairly easy to tell who to avoid, but nowadays they found it impossible.

Anyone could be a murderer. Anyone could have motive to steal. Even wholly good people had no problem breaking traffic laws.

"Hey, Sesshomaru," Kouga had said, "Aren't you tired of wandering?"

He had stared at the man.

The wolf demon held out his hand. "Come to Tokyo with me. Humans don't believe in the Daiyoukai anymore, but they still need our help."

He considered this. "And what help could an outcast in his own world be?" he asked.

Kouga grinned. "You were known as the strongest demon in our era. Surely strength that enormous could help somehow."

He thought.

"Come on, Sesshomaru," he said. "It's time you put your strength to good use. Humans can't even defend themselves, but we can help. Isn't that something worth working toward?"

He had moved to Tokyo a week later.

Sesshomaru had found somewhat of an escape from his past in his work, which numbed the pain of living but gave him hardly any sleep. On any normal day when a witness had mysteriously died, he would stay awake, tossing and turning in frustration, but eventually fall asleep in the early hours of the morning.

He didn't sleep at all.

His brother's wife was on his mind. Surely she had woken by now? Seen that he was gone? Noticed the business card he'd left on the bedside table? He turned over, eyes wide open. Perhaps, he reasoned, she was still disoriented from the events of being locked out of the Warring States.

Perhaps she had been too dazed to notice. There was a possibility that she forget her chance meeting with Sesshomaru altogether. Stress had a funny way of working with the mind.

He rolled onto his stomach.

Didn't it seem a little odd, though? He frowned. What a surprising coincidence, that he happened to visit the Higurashi family shrine _just _as the Priestess returned to the present. It wasn't as if Sesshomaru had never been to that shrine before. Didn't it make sense that he would have run into the girl at one point or another?

He mentally corrected himself. The last time he'd been anywhere near that shrine was over twenty years ago, long before she'd been born.

Still… He flipped onto his back. Why now? If anyone found the girl, he'd have pegged it on Kouga or Shippou. He felt cheap, hiding his discovery from the wolf. It surprised Sesshomaru that he'd recognized Kagome's scent after five hundred years. If Kouga got suspicious enough, he would go out of his way to investigate it.

But all that aside, why on earth hadn't that woman contacted him yet?!

He sat up. "This," growled Sesshomaru, "will _not do_."

It was well past three AM, and dark enough, even for Tokyo, that he wasn't worried he'd be caught. He strode to his large window and propped it open. As he slung a leg over the side and the cool air hit his skin, he grimaced; he wasn't wearing shoes. It would only be a quick trip, he decided, and threw his other bare foot out onto the small ledge.

All he needed was to see her face, just for a moment.

He lived on the eleventh floor of the apartment building, and the height would have curled a regular man's toes.

But the Lord of the West was no regular man.

He leapt gracefully, quietly, off the window's edge and sliced through the crow black sky. The crisp air hitting his face was exhilarating; it had been decades since he'd last flown, and Sesshomaru found himself sorely missing it.

The visiting hours at the hospital most probably did _not_ extend to three-thirty in the morning, so he arrived at Kagome's window after enjoying his trip and perched against the side of the building. He made quick work of getting inside, shutting the pane of glass as quietly as he could.

She was sleeping.

He glanced at his business card, still resting on the table and confirmed that she hadn't yet seen it. If he was right, she hadn't even woken up yet. Another woman he didn't recognize sat in a chair pulled up at the bedside, her hand grasping the girl's and cheek pressed into the covers.

He inhaled.

Her mother, he assumed by the scent.

So, she wasn't completely alone. He exhaled. Moving closer, he blinked at her peaceful face and grimaced. She slept relatively soundly, for a woman who had just been separated from the man she loved.

_Kagome is strong_, he recalled Shippou telling him several weeks after her disappearance. _I'm sure she's just as sad as we are, being apart from everyone. But she's not gonna stay that way! She'll be happy for us, even if she cries at first. It's not her I'm worried about_.

He smelled something.

Something like fresh pine and smoke.

He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. It was so familiar, but it had been so long ago… He stilled.

"Inuyasha," he whispered. Kagome stirred in her sleep, and his eyes snapped open. She smelled like Inuyasha. It occurred to him that while five hundred years had passed since he'd seen his brother, it had been barely over ten hours for Kagome.

Of course she would smell like him.

Sesshomaru had thought he'd never smell that scent again.

He looked at her face once more, then turned sharply on his bare heel and left out the window. Flying home didn't give him as much as a thrill this time; his mind was heavy, addled with memories and conflicting emotions. Sesshomaru didn't know what to do, and that had never happened before. The guilt he felt when he recalled Inuyasha, sitting for days and nights in front of the well, in the freezing snow, pouring rain, and scorching sun…the guilt that he was with his brother's mate was overwhelming.

Because, he reminded himself, Inuyasha was dead.

The bridge of time that Kagome had brought to him was unwelcomed. He didn't _need _a bridge to understand the past, and he didn't _want _a bridge to his old memories. Because, as much as he hated to admit it…

Sesshomaru had been hurt when they died.

His last relative, gone. The final semblance of his hated father's mighty bloodline, snuffed out. If only he could visit his grave, he would feel less guilty of stealing time. But Kouga refused to tell him where it was. He had to find it himself.

Sesshomaru had no idea where to look.

He reached his home, grinding his teeth in fury. He didn't want to feel guilt every time he looked at the Priestess. He didn't want to remember his half-brother's scent or search desperately for a grave. He had found a peace in ignorance, in the year 2001, and he would not have it taken from him.

If Kagome called him, he would answer.

But he would not submit to guilt.

Sesshomaru didn't sleep at all that night.

A/N:

Previous Chapter: The End

Next Chapter: The Witness


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